Wabi-sabi

The Berkeley Art Museum featured a show from their collection of Japanese art.  As a fan of all things Japanese, I looked forward to seeing it.

What is it about the way in which Japanese artists depict nature?  With minimal brush strokes and color they can transport you right into the painting.  You feel the snow and cold of a winter scene.

A porcelain cone, about 24 inches in diameter and 24 inches high stood inverted on its point on a stainless steel rectangle.  The glaze was a light, iridescent blue on the outside and a white semi-gloss on the inside.  The circle on the cone's rim was perfectly even except for a slight disfiguration.  I learned this is called "wabi-sabi."  

According to Wikipedia, the words wabi and sabi "... do not translate easily. Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society; sabi meant "chill", "lean" or "withered". Around the 14th century these meanings began to change, taking on more positive connotations.  Wabi now connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs."

The coffee table is a solid slab of California Walnut by artist-designer Jeffrey Dale.